Policy Brief
Government Plan
Legal requirements
Article 18(2)(e) of The States of Jersey Law 2005 requires as one of the functions of the Council of Ministers –
agreeing and lodging for referral to one or more Scrutiny Panels established under standing orders and approval by the States, a statement of their common strategic policy.
Article 18 (2A) of the Law requires that –
The Council of Ministers must lodge the statement of their common strategic policy under paragraph (2)(e) –
(a) no later than the day on which the first government plan is lodged; and
(b) within 4 months of their appointment under Article 19(7).
Article 9 (1) of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 requires that -
Each financial year, the Council of Ministers must prepare a government plan and lodge it in sufficient time for the States to debate and approve it before the start of the next financial year.
The remainder of Article 9 sets out in detail what must be included in the plan in respect of financial information.
Common Strategic Policy
On 26 January 2024 Deputy Lyndon Farnham was elected Chief Minister.
On 9 April 2024 his Council of Ministers published its Proposed Common Strategic Policy 2024 - 2026. This set out 12 priorities for delivery in the next two years. A 13th priority, implementation of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap, was added by the States Assembly when it approved the Common Strategic Policy 2024-2026 on 21 May 2024.
- Extend nursery and childcare provision.
- Provide a nutritious school meal for every child in all States primary schools.
- Increase the provision of lifelong learning and skills development.
- Start building a new hospital at Overdale.
- Reduce GP fees.
- Implement the recommendations from the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce report.
- Transition to a living wage.
- Provide more affordable homes for Islanders and more confidence for the rented sector.
- Keep government fees, duties and charges as low as possible to help Islanders with the cost of living in 2025.
- Reduce red tape, enhance opportunities for business and strengthen Jersey’s international reputation.
- Deliver a plan to revitalise Town.
- Reform the planning service to get Jersey building.
- Meet the Island’s commitments to address the climate emergency through the implementation of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
Budget (Government Plan) 2025-2028
The Budget (Government Plan ) 2025-2028 was agreed by the States Assembly in December 2024. The decision has been taken to rename the Government Plan “Budget”, although for the purposes of the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2019 it is the Government Plan. The name change reflects the reality of the position is that the document is a budget rather than a plan. Another change from previous practice is that the proposed Budget was published much earlier than in previous years.
The Budget set out the following 2025 highlights –
- General revenue income £1.27bn.
- Government spending in delivering services to Islanders £1.196bn.
- 2025 balance in the Strategic Reserve £1.449bn.
- Investment in new healthcare facilities £73m.
- Investment in buildings, infrastructure and IT £79m.
- Purchase of new government HQ £91m.
- Investment in health £31m.
- Support for businesses and charities through transition to the living wage £20m.
The Budget measures for 2025 included –
- Increases in personal tax allowances by 3.6%, for example the single person’s allowance increases from £20,000 to £20,700.
- No increase in alcohol or fuel duty.
- 83p increase in the duty on a packet of cigarettes.
- 20% increase in vehicle emissions duty for the highest emitting vehicles.
Planned spending by department is as follows –
£322m Health and Community Services
£176m Education and Lifelong Learning
£109m Employment, social security and housing
£75m Infrastructure and Environment
£73m Justice, Home Affairs and States of Jersey Police
£52m Economy, Financial Services and External Relations
£48m Non-Ministerial and other States Bodies
£47m Treasury and Exchequer
£40m Technology and Digital Services
£26m Cabinet Office
£22m Jersey Overseas Aid
£14m People services
It should be noted that the definitions of departments are different from those in the previous plan. Also, some of the listed departments are not departments but functions, for example “people services” in the previous plan was included in the Cabinet Office figure. However, more detailed figures are published in the main report.
Proposed capital expenditure of £166m comprises –
£28m Estates
£30m Infrastructure
£21m IT
£73m Healthcare facilities
£15m Other
Proposed expenditure from Social Security Funds of £481 million includes –
£335m Pensions and other benefits (Social Security Fund)
£84m Long Term Care benefits (Long Term Care Fund)
£62m Health benefits (Health Insurance Fund)
